Countrywide Conveyancing/HSBC - avoid like the plague if you want to complete

MTH

Doesn't Bode well for me as a FTB planning to go via HSBC.. I'm going to question it when I'm at the bank on Monday morning!

Only glimmer of hope is that countrywide passed me straight to a local solicitor. Hope that eases things through..

Richard_Webster

Doesn't Bode well for me as a FTB planning to go via HSBC.. I'm going to question it when I'm at the bank on Monday morning!

Only glimmer of hope is that countrywide passed me straight to a local solicitor. Hope that eases things through..

You should be able to choose one of their 43 and avoid Countrywide themselves if that's what you want.

The problem will be whether there will be any firm on the panel near you and reasonable to deal with.

emmamillard

Yorkie1 wrote: »

Yes, you can opt for using your own solicitor.

However, the problem with doing this, is that Countrywide then insist on double checking your own solicitors' work - and then send back lots of queries which have already had the answers provided, lose documents etc, and are very slow. They require 11 working days between exchange and completion - over 2 weeks - though I believe this may have been reduced recently.

Just because your solicitor is good, doesn't mean it will be straightforward because the Countrywide element of the process will make it beyond complicated and drawn-out.

Some solicitors are also charging own clients more on the conveyancing because of the extra time and hassle caused by dealing with Countrywide's inept and overworked staff - or even refusing business because they don't need the hassle. The fact that some solicitors are turning business away when they hear that their client has an HSBC mortgage will give you some indication of how awful it can be.

Hi Yorkie: you advise that the exchange/completion time has been reduced recently, do you know if this is fact?

We have completed all the work with our own solicitors and the p/work went off to CC on Friday for their DOUBLE, DOUBLE check and we have been told my our solictors that there will be some 'Delay', but not said if this is days, weeks? Does anyone have any idea if they have a timeframe for 1st set of enquiries...

Frustrated HSBC homebuyers!

Richard_Webster

Hi Yorkie: you advise that the exchange/completion time has been reduced recently, do you know if this is fact?

HSBC reduced the amount of time they "officially" need for notice to get the mortgage funds form 10 working days to 6. So I assume CPL added on a day to make it 11 and now will add on a day to make it 7. But don't hold your breath!

All this is very silly because when we were able to deal with HSBC they were fairly easy to deal with and if you rang them and asked how quickly thy could get the money to us we could often get a lot quicker than 10 working days so why are CPL being difficult?

baggage55

I started this thread on 8th March.......we have finally exchanged on our sale - funnily enough after my husband e mailed the top brass at Countrywide Conveyancing complaining about the length of time their involvement was taking in our 3 house chain (our purchasers had their own solicitors and CC insisted on checking everything they did). As far as we know CC have still insisted on the 11 days between exchange and completion as we exchanged on 12th and complete on 27th March.

PatzyG

baggage55 wrote: »

I started this thread on 8th March.......we have finally exchanged on our sale - funnily enough after my husband e mailed the top brass at Countrywide Conveyancing complaining about the length of time their involvement was taking in our 3 house chain (our purchasers had their own solicitors and CC insisted on checking everything they did). As far as we know CC have still insisted on the 11 days between exchange and completion as we exchanged on 12th and complete on 27th March.

Hi new to this forum but we are having exactly they same problem. The people we are buying from are going through HSBC, there is only us and them and they are moving to an empty property. All contracts were signed and work completed at the end of February. Our seller's solicitors sent all the paperwork to Countrywide over two weeks ago, heard from them once last Friday, completed their request by fax and have heard nothing since. I would be interested to know who I could 'hassle' at Countrywide. Our completion date was originally meant to be tomorrow. So very fed up with these incompetent people!!

littlemonkeywolf

Dont bother with the call centre, if you can get of the email address for your team do it that way, they reply pretty much within a hour in opening hours and seems to actually be getting some where... very slowly... but somewhere...:mad:but oh they do ask some questions again and again.. 6 weeks so far and still no sign of exchange.... ( and its a no chain ftb purchase!!!! )

nikkickchloe

Arrrgghh we've just found out that our buyers are using HSBC and therefore CC They're FTB and buying ours, and we're buying up the road and he's moving to a mates! It couldn't be a smaller chain!!!!!!! I've warned our EA, as hes selling both houses , think he was hoping for a quick and easy payout at 1.1% of both houses!!! Wish us luck!!!!!

DVardysShadow

nikkickchloe wrote: »

Arrrgghh we've just found out that our buyers are using HSBC and therefore CC They're FTB and buying ours, and we're buying up the road and he's moving to a mates! It couldn't be a smaller chain!!!!!!! I've warned our EA, as hes selling both houses , think he was hoping for a quick and easy payout at 1.1% of both houses!!! Wish us luck!!!!!

OP warns people not to use CC. From my experience a few years ago, I would not accept an offer from anyone using CC - nor would I buy from anyone using them. This now extends to HSBC.

Yorkie1

Just to point out that someone buying with an HSBC mortgage does not automatically mean that they will be using CC. It's possible that they will be using one of the other HSBC panel solicitors. So far, there's few reports about their incompetence etc - but that will need to be kept under review as their workload increases.